Dan Taylor on the fine arts scene.

Santa Rosa Junior College displays its permanent art collection

Santa Rosa Junior College is putting its permanent art collection, featuring almost 80 works created by 52 artists who have worked at the college over the past six decades, on display at its Doyle Library.

The Doyle Collection, assembled over the past two years by college library technician Scott Lipanovich, will be shown on the third and fourth floors of the library.

“The works — several quite large — are spread over about 1.5 acres of floor space” at the library, said Lipanovich, who doubles as Doyle Collection curator.

The collection features paintings, sketches and photography, as well as sculptures as large as 12 by 8 feet.

“On most weekends for the past two years, I’ve met with artists, and family members of deceased artists who worked at SRJC from the 1950s to the present,” Lipanovich said.

“I looked at easily 1,000 pieces of art, selecting the nearly 80 that are in the permanent collection,” he added.

Artists represented include the late sculptor Robert Arneson, whose work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The collection also includes work by the late Roger Barr, whose large steel sculpture, “Skygate,” stands at San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

Other artists represented include photographer John Lebaron, painters Max Hein and Maurice Lapp, and sculptors Bruce Johnson and John Watrous.

A free reception celebrating the collection will run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. April 26 at the Doyle Library on campus, 1501 Mendocino Ave.

About this blog

What is art? Whether it’s oil on canvas or actors on stage, dancers on their toes or comedians doing stand-up, Press Democrat staff writer Dan Taylor covers the fine and lively arts in Northern California. Meet the people, go behind the scenes and get ahead on what’s coming up.